Rugby World UK – August 2019

but then expected not to react when
people do or say things to him.
“If you look at the demographic of
rugby, how many people fit into his
category of mixed race, single parent,
non rugby-playing school? There are
probably another 20 Kyles in or around
inner London who don’t feel like they
belong and still look at rugby as a white,
middle-class sport. Celebrate what Kyle
has achieved; use him as a role model.
“When Kyle was 16, he got a
scholarship to Epsom College. Other
boys saw you could come from a school
like Graveney and get a scholarship
to an independent school and that
motivated a lot of them. By the time
I left the school in 2017, we had a team

in every age group and a girls’ team.

That’s the legacy of Kyle playing rugby.

“It put me on a new path, too. I started

my coaching qualifications when we set

up that team and now work at Trinity

School where rugby is the main sport

and I’m director of rugby at Old Ruts.”

THE SCOUT

Collin Osborne spotted Sinckler in an

U12s game and got him involved in

the Harlequins and Surrey set-ups

“My son was playing for KCS Old Boys

and Kyle was playing for the opposition,

Battersea Ironsides. He was playing

very well at full-back and centre – very

good hands, very competitive, very

physical, quick off the mark. He didn’t

have sustained speed but the damage

was done in those first five metres.

“It was his belligerence that most

impressed me. Every Sunday morning

I was following my son around and I’d

see a lot of good players, but he stood

out physically and with his belligerence.

“He was incredibly competitive and

wanted to win every hit. At U12 level

that was an unusual quality, to have that

degree of desire to win – and that is

very difficult to coach. You usually don’t

see it until U15s, when puberty kicks in

and boys become very competitive.

“That first game I saw him play, there

were a few confrontations and he was

at the heart of them. He was obviously

talented but he got frustrated in games

and wasn’t sure how to deal with it. I told

him he had potential to do good things if

he learnt how to control that aggression;

it wasn’t about losing aggression but

harnessing it. I said, ‘Come to the club

with me and let’s see what we can do’.

“At the time I was academy manager

at Quins and the EPDG (Elite Player

Development Group) sessions started at

U13. Surrey also had a set-up for boys

who didn’t go to rugby-playing schools.

They would work on skills as well as

conditioning. He used to do weight

training in Crystal Palace with Keith

Morgan, who’d coached GB Olympic

weightlifters. He took to that very well.

“I think it was a coach at London

Scottish U15, where a group of them

moved, who suggested Kyle move to

prop. I remember them playing in North

London one Sunday and I got him on

the scrum machine afterwards, showing

him where to put his feet, etc. I said,

‘Become a decent tighthead prop

Teenage dream Representing England’s U18 side

Making strides In action for England against the Crusaders in 2014 and the Lions in New Zealand in 2017

England

“Rugby is his love, his passion. He knew where he

wanted to get to and would make sacrifices to do it”